Marzuki determined to reform Attorney General's Office<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Marzuki Darusman says he is
\ndetermined to reform and restructure his \"corrupt\" and
\n\"inefficient\" office in response to public demands for
\nprofessional and independent prosecutors.<\/p>\n
Marzuki announced on Wednesday the establishment of a team to
\nreform and restructure the office as a follow up to a legal audit
\ncarried out to identify ways to improve the office's integrity,
\nprofessionalism and effectiveness.<\/p>\n
The team, involving people outside the office, was led by
\nDeputy Attorney for Career Development Affairs Suparman and
\nlawyer Todung Mulya Lubis.<\/p>\n
\"Growing public pressure on the office, weak law enforcement
\nand judicial system, and the new challenges in the handling of
\nvarious economic, environmental and human rights cases has
\nprompted us to enhance our capability,\" he said at the opening of
\na workshop on Reform Concepts and Strategies of Public
\nProsecutorial Services.<\/p>\n
Marzuki said his office was drafting a new bill to ensure the
\nindependence of prosecutors. Under the new bill, an attorney
\ngeneral would be appointed by legislators instead of by the
\npresident.<\/p>\n
Marzuki acknowledged that the public had a negative view of
\nhis office, one that was ineffective and rife with corruption,
\nwhile prosecutors were perceived to have poor morality.<\/p>\n
He blamed this on weak human resources used to past practices.<\/p>\n
The legal audit, financed by the Asian Development Bank and
\nconducted by independent auditors from PricewaterhouseCoopers,
\nidentified three driving forces of change in the country which
\nwould affect the Attorney General's Office.<\/p>\n
One driving force is the current economic development, which
\nmay encourage corruption as many projects are being conducted.<\/p>\n
Another is the country's program on regional autonomy, which
\naffects the authority of the Attorney General's Office.<\/p>\n
\"Technology and its advances could also affect our work, so we
\nhave to fully implement the information modernization program to
\nat least improve our filing system.<\/p>\n
\"The use of computer graphics or animation would also assist
\ncourts in visualizing an event or mechanical operations which
\ncould shorten a trial,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Marzuki said the office was currently handling hundreds of
\ncases following investigations by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK)
\nand some ministries. The cases involve alleged irregularities
\nduring the Soeharto regime.<\/p>\n
\"Several such cases deal with complex commercial crimes while
\nprosecutors have limited experience and expertise,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Most of the cases involve former president Soeharto's
\nchildren, relatives or cronies. The investigations of these cases
\nhave yet to be accomplished.<\/p>\n
Many have accused state prosecutors of deliberately dragging
\ntheir feet in the legal proceedings in handling political-laden
\ncases, since Marzuki is from the former ruling Golkar Party,
\nwhich supported the then regime.<\/p>\n
According to Suparman, his team will reform the recruitment
\nsystem so that new prosecutors will not only have expertise in
\nthe field of law, but also be able to master information
\ntechnology and foreign languages.<\/p>\n
The office will also provide training and education to
\nspecialize the prosecutors, including in white-collar crimes and
\nin human rights.<\/p>\n
Lubis added that the reform was expected to give birth to a
\nmodern Attorney General's Office, which would able to provide
\nlegal services to the public. Legal proceedings in the office
\nwould also no longer be a burden to justice seekers.<\/p>\n
\"But to make it happen, the office should be free from
\npolitical interests,\" he said. (bby)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/marzuki-determined-to-reform-attorney-generals-office-1447893297",
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